Apostrophe’s Problems. Problems with Apostrophes. And homonyms two.

I take it as a sign of Internet commentators’ language arts when they do not use apostrophes correctly. I know some of this is due to typing on the fly but you can tell a user is ill-prepared to communicate with readers when apostrophes confuse them. This also shows when their use of homonyms is also impaired there. You’re not going to defend your position when you have stunted your own expression. Even in a casual sense, and forgiving the hasty nature of the forums, the feedback feature is quite a display of sloppy execution. It weakens your presence, frankly, because you either don’t or can’t police the expression of your own opinions.

These mistakes are not found only in casual forum-based opinions either, these mistakes are made in web-published articles too. I am old-fashioned about the shared written word because it has shaped our culture and then reflects it through time. How sad that our “advanced” society cannot impress upon itself the need to live UP to expectations of civility and clarity. I am not faulting young writers, or those using English as a second (or third…) language. I specifically refer to that ordinary opinion-stating individual peppering the forums with sloppy expression.

It’s not difficult for an entity communicating its opinion.

It’s is a contraction of It is such as “it’s raining”. It’s wrong. It’s cold. It’s green.

Its is a possessive pronoun like “its feet”. “It” could be a piece of furniture, defined in context, replacing gender-based “his” or “her” feet when gender isn’t required by the English language.

This lapse is a bellwether for our communication skills, devolving as rapidly as our social graces. Nuance is part of it, haste is a factor, yet the overwhelming fact is we’re dumbing down the presentation of our ideas, our opinions, our beliefs.

Read more, text less, and you’ll have more convincing content in the long run.